This blog shares stories and photographs about outdoor travels in the Northwest.

Monday, February 13, 2012

February 13, 2012

Difficulties, Alas … (And photos at Pioneer Park's Aviary)

Today I put cyan ink into the CIS system’s black-ink tank. Crap! I stepped back in shock. Over the years, and through several printers and CIS systems, I have feared doing that crap.Yes, feared. It didn’t seem likely, but possible, so I took special care.Until yesterday. Apparently.Halfway done, I saw the mistake. My brain roiled with confusion. Crap! After a moment of stunned immobility, I focused, somewhat. Maybe the cyan would not dilute the black enough to matter, at least in the proportions used for a typical print.Actually, prints often have totally black sections. Many birds do, for example, such as the wood duck and goldeneye.So, still wobbly, I figured that more black would reduce the impact of the cyan.Hurriedly, I opened a bottle of black and filled the black-ink tank as full as I dared.Relaxing somewhat, I carefully refilled the other tanks and sat back to collect my thoughts.So, it occurred to me that the most effective strategy would have been to draw out the contents of the black tank and refill it with pure black ink.I deduced that one of my old backpacking water purifiers, without filter, would probably work. I probably had more than one really old one.Yet, I had a full tank of black ink and preferred not to waste it, little as it cost. More than that, the prospect of fussing with a water purifier to pump out the black tank, with the certain mess, left me cold.Now, I know that this issue deserves little serious concern in the scheme of earthly issues.This week, for example, American conservative religious leaders and political reactionaries have accused the President of waging war on religion because of his policy to have health care groups connected churches pay for birth control services.As Jon Stewart pointed out (2-13-12), that’s an affront to the billions of people who suffer and have suffered from real wars against one religion or another.Anyway, I accepted that my tank of mixed ink failed to qualify for the level of angst that I felt.So, I shrugged and let it ride. If the ink ruins a print or two, I may try the pump.Besides, this printer and CISS may fail tomorrow anyway, before any of the ink, black or yellow, makes it to a sheet of paper.So, I leashed up Nora the Schnauzer, hooked a camera on my shoulder and we took a walk in the park to take more photos to print....Pioneer Park, that is.(Talk about real issues, by the way: We couldn’t take our usual drive for a walk at Mill Creek. The glass guys were hard at work replacing our truck’s windshield, which took a gravel shot right in front of my face.)

About Me

Now retired, I once spent several hours each week, sometimes several days, traveling with Darlene and Nora the Schnauzer (since Sadie the Dalmatian died) in the outdoors of the Pacific Northwest, often with a fly rod and/or a backpack and always with a camera, to research columns for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin . See photos at www.tripper.smugmug.com.